A SISTERHOOD OF MYSTICAL NUNS TAKE CENTRE S TAG E IN HBO SERIES DUNE: PROPHECY, A STORY EXPLORING THE SHADIEST CORNERS OF AN EPIC GALAXY. BUT GETTING IT MADE PROVED A SAGA IN ITSELF

WORDS DAN JOLIN

Empress Natalya (Jodhi May) and Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong) hold court.

IT ALL BEGAN WITH FRANK HERBERT'S AUNTS

Ten of them, on his mother’s side. They were Irish Catholic, and insisted that young Frank, during his childhood in the 1920s and ’30s, be raised in their faith and educated as a Jesuit, despite his agnostic father’s objections. Years later, after achieving literary fame for his grand sci-fi epic Dune, Herbert would reflect on their familial coup as an “attempted brainwashing ”.

They made a profound impression on him, those formidable aunts. He would recast them as the most powerful women in the universe: the mysterious, cloistered and exclusively feminine power behind his distant-future universe’s throne. The Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. Women with the ability to detect lies, manipulate bloodlines and dominate minds. As Herbert’s son, Brian, noted in his biography of his father, “It is no accident that the pronunciations of ‘Gesserit’ and ‘Jesuit’ are similar.”

Yet for all their significance to the plot of Dune, a story defined by Herbert’s inherent distrust of religion, the Bene Gesserit reside at the shadowy fringes of Paul Atreides’ apparently heroic ascension —whether you’re reading the 1965 novel or watching Denis Villeneuve’s sublimely executed two-part (and counting) adaptation. But that is about to change. Frank Herbert’s aunts, so to speak, are taking centre stage.

A sombre Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson).

Getting them there, however, has not been easy. To quote Emily Watson, who anchors Dune: Prophecy’s cast in the central role of Valya Harkonnen, “It’s all been a bit of a saga.”

The idea of dedicating a TV series to the rise of Herbert’s black-robed, mind-melting nuns goes back to before even Villeneuve’s first Dune movie. In June 2019, Legendary Television and Warner Bros. announced that Villeneuve would be directing the pilot for the show, then titled ‘Dune: The Sisterhood’, as well as the big-screen adaptation, with Dune co-writer Jon Spaihts showrunning. “The Bene Gesserit have always been fascinating to me,” said Villeneuve.

“Focusing a series on that powerful order of women seemed not only relevant and inspiring but a dynamic setting for a television series.”